KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The preseason recognition continues to roll in for Tennessee’s Grant Williams as the junior was named Monday to the watch list for the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division I Player of the Year Presented by ShotTracker.
Williams is one of 20 players nationwide recognized on the list. Earlier on Monday, Williams joined teammate Admiral Schofield on the preseason watch list for the 2019 Citizen Naismith Trophy—another award recognizing the national player of the year.
The reigning SEC Player of the Year—bestowed by both the league’s head coached and the Associated Press—Williams last season led the SEC Champion Volunteers in scoring (15.2 ppg), was second in blocks (44) and rebounding (6.0 rpg) and finished fourth in assists (66).
The Charlotte, North Carolina, native ranked ninth in the SEC in scoring (16.1 ppg) and ninth in shooting percentage (.463) during league play despite being regularly double-teamed.
Through two seasons with the Vols, Williams is only 67 points (933) shy of joining Tennessee’s 48-member 1,000-Point Club and currently ranks just outside the top 10 on UT’s all-time career lists for offensive rebounds (14th with 175) and blocks (15th with 105).
Throughout the preseason Williams has been named to preseason All-SEC teams by every major sports publication, while also earning the SEC’s Preseason Player of the Year honors from the league’s media back in October. He was named to the watch list for the Karl Malone Award, which recognizes the top power forward in college basketball, and was selected via fan vote as the NCAA March Madness Preseason Player of the Year.
The 2019 NABC Player of the Year Award will be announced on Sunday, April 7 at the NABC Guardians of the Game Awards Show in Minneapolis.
-UT Athletics
